Certified/Endeavor to meet Power Horse in Palm City Open
finals
By
Alex Webbe
The rain-delayed completion of the first round of the
Palm city Open was finally completed on Saturday with KIG scoring a 7-3 win
over Cinque Terre to end their three chukker segment of the round-robin
followed by a 3-3 tie between Certified/Endeavor and Cinque Terre. By virtue of a win and a tie,
Certified/Endeavor will face Power Horse in Sunday’s finals. KIG is slated to face Cinque Terre in the
subsidiary final. La Pasion/Tuff Rider
will meet Elangeni Ranch in the consolation final.
Certified/Endeavor got off to a good first round run with
a 5-3 win over KIG. Three first chukker
goals had them up 4-0 (Certified/Endeavor received one goal by handicap) while
a stingy defense kept KIG off of the scoreboard in the opening chukker. A pair of goals from Nic Roldan and a single
goal from Joaquin Panelo had KIG trailing from the beginning.
KIG closed the gap with a couple of goals from the field from
Marc Ganzi while shutting out the Certified/Endeavor attack. The led was cut to 4-2, with KIG on the hunt.
Miguel Astrada scored the final goal of the mini-match
while KIG held Certified/Endeavor to a single goal from Larry Austin, but it
wasn’t enough as KIG fell, 5-3.
KIG
7, CINQUE TERRE 3
KIG held the field for the ensuing three chukkers,
scoring an impressive 7-3 win over Cinque Terre.
This time it was KIG with the big first chukker. Single goals from Astrada, Lucas Lalor and
Ganzi were paired with a stellar defensive effort for a 3-0 start.
Cinque Terre fought back in the following chukker with
two goals from Brandon Phillips and a goal from Alessandro Bazzoni. KIG got single goals from Lalor and Astrada
to hold a 5-3 advantage.
KIG ended it with goals from Bash Kazi and Lalor while
shutting out the Cinque Terre offense for the second time in the 7-3 victory.
CERTIFIED/ENDEAVOR
3, CINQUE TERRE 3
Certified/Endeavor received one goal by handicap but were
kept off of the scoreboard for the first two chukkers of play as Cinque Terre
took control of the play on the field.
Avery Chapman scored the first goal on a penalty shot followed by a goal
from the field from Brandon Phillips.
Cinque Terre took the early 2-1 lead.
Phillips scored the only goal of the following chukker
while a frustrated Certified/Endeavor attack was unable to score for the second
consecutive period. Going into the final
chukker, Cinque Terre held a 3-1 lead.
The final chukker belonged to Certified/Endeavor with Nic
Roldan scoring twice, I including a magical goal in which he carried the ball
through the goal posts with three taps in mid-air. The final horn sounded with the teams
deadlocked in a 3-3 tie.
Certified/Endeavor took top honors in the round-robin by virtue of a win
and a tie. KIG finished second with a
1-1 record and Cinque Terre finished third with two losses.